To not tip when eating out?

[JemimaPuddleDucksPuddle]

Saw a thread on another board that mentioned tipping when eating out and whether or not you should. The majority of posters seemed to think of a person as being tight fisted or ungenerous if they don't tip. I disagree and don't tip as a matter of routine, only if the service is exceptional. AIBU?

@JemimaPuddleDucksPuddle

Many posters got arsey about it though saying they wouldn't even date a person that didn't tip as a matter of routine.

LOL! And I would never date a person who insisted on giving a tip to people who were already being paid quite well, and had a stick up their arse about me refusing to tip.

I would also ask them if they tip checkout operators, shop assistants, librarians, post office workers, bus drivers, train ticket collectors, refuse collectors, blah blah blah.......etc etc etc...

If they say they don't, I would tell them (politely of course) to fuck off to the far side of fuck.

I wish this had a poll too. I live and work in London and tipping is absolutely expected now, I think. I’ve never been for a meal out in a group and not left a tip and I’d be quite surprised now if a friend or colleague suggested not tipping.

@Zebraaa

I bought a takeaway coffee the other day, went to pay by card and the server asked if I wanted to add a tip on. Wtf. For making the drink?!

The cheek of it!

This happens to me too sometimes, and I ALWAYS say no.

As I say, there is no place for tipping ANYONE in 2019.

Foolish, and outdated, and a bit naff to be honest.

I would be so embarrassed not to tip, would always tip minimum of 10% or £5 if bill came to less than £50.

It does have a hint of ‘you are beneath me doing this lowly serving work so here have a few extra pence’ about it too even though I know that lots of the people doing the tipping will be in the same industry.

It makes up for antisocial hours and customers who are tosses.

I tip if food and service have been good, but I check if the waiting on staff get it or not. I've been known to get a restaurant to take off a service charge from a bill, especially when I've found out the staff don't see it.

We tip anywhere except fast food and take aways back in the UK, unless service was dire. And we aren't well off. We take tip into account when deciding if we will eat somewhere.

Over here in America we tip even if service is lacklustre, so long as the server wasn't outright rude. And we tip take out and pizza pick up and delivery too. Those people over here are paid like shit. I have friends who only earn $2 an hour without tips.

Husband ALWAYS tips. Even when the service is shoddy. I'm getting quite tight and less likely to tip. He now hides the tips (jokingly). Haha!

Restaurant customers are some of the absolute worst people to encounter. Especially after 12 hours of being on your feet! Some people think of FOH as slaves.

So since working in the business for 15 years, I always tip (unless derive was abysmal) because a fiver can buy them a drink at the end of a shitty day.

I dont always tip but I do if the service has been better than average.

I always ask them if they get the tips first though, and would usually give 10%.

I only tip if the service is good - so maybe half of the time I eat out?

The employee earns a fair wage

They really don't.
Unless you think £8.98 is a "fair wage".
www.indeed.co.uk/salaries/restaurant-staff-Salaries

I hate tipping. It is outdated, feudal, demeaning and discriminatory.

The U.K. minimum wage is now £8.21 per hour. This is a fair and reasonable wage for unskilled customer service work. When I was doing bar work back in the early 90s, I earned far less that in real terms. Tipping is now completely unnecessary.

Why is it considered appropriate to tip waiting staff in cafes & restaurants but not those earning the same wages for doing equivalent work in Tesco, McDonalds or Subway?

It meets NMW so yes it’s a fair wage. Other people are on the same wage and don’t get tips. What do you propose waiting staff should earn?

YANBU.
Can never understand why some people thing you "ought" to tip a waiter or waitress, but then happily walk past the cleaner, the security man, the parking warden, the supermarket worker, the Receptionist at the gym, the lollipop man that crosses them over the road, the person that serves them in the newsagent or the chemist or any other shop, the porter at the hospital, etc., etc., etc.

It does have a hint of ‘you are beneath me doing this lowly serving work so here have a few extra pence’

No it doesn't.
You are being taken care or by a minimum wage earner whose tips make the difference between subsistence & just about getting by.

I very rarely tip. If we're doing a group dinner then fine. But the last time I gave a tip and felt warm and fuzzy was Christmas gone, when I gave the uber eats driver a fiver.

In the UK where waiting staff get the full minimum wage, I agree that it is outdated but it is also an expected custom and the restaurant will probably be wondering what they did wrong if you don’t tip. Also, librarians, refuse collectors, bus drivers and some of the other examples given here including checkout workers (used to be one) usually get paid over minimum wage. Waiting staff usually don’t because their employer expects that they will get tips. Much as I think the custom is daft I’m not about to take it out on hard working, low paid staff.
(The US is something else entirely and not comparable because of the ridiculously low minimum wage for servers)

@messolini9 so what about the millions of other workers on that wage who don’t get tips? Shouldn’t you tip them then?

Hope you all tip nurses and police officers too then to make up for their anti social hours and the awful public.

Nurse and police don’t earn £8.21 an hour.

No because they trained/got a degree which allowed them to get a job that pays more.

And that is a vocation. They choose to undertake the training knowing full well what the job entails. Waitressing is a relatively easy job to get, it’s not a public service, it’s to earn money to live.

I generally do tip unless food and or service has been particularly bad. I also tip takeaway delivery drivers and cab drivers.

If you think that makes me a mug so be it. I’d rather be a mug than go through life with the miserable attitude some of you seem to have.

I started off working as a waitress and it was the hardest job I ever had to do. Early starts, late finishes, working Christmas and New Year, dealing with many rude customers and the mess that they left. I now get paid a decent salary working in an office and always give a tip (if the service is good). I remember feeling more appreciated if someone left a tip and it made me think I was doing a good job so I couldn't not tip. I also tend to think its cheap if someone can't leave a couple of pounds to say thank you for the good service as its not expected (like in America) but I definitely don't tip if they add any service charge to the bill (so rude).